Disclaimer: The article contains content that might be triggering to some readers. Discretion is advised.
On the afternoon of 9th October, the students were taken by shock to see a Condolence Mail from the Dean of Students announcing the death of a fellow student the previous night near the Andhra Pradesh border. The mail mentioned that the student in question was a third-year B.Tech. student from the Department of Metallurgical & Materials Engineering. The Dean expressed condolences towards the friends and family on behalf of the Institute.
Following this, a Condolence Meet for Paki Venkata Sai Abhiram was held in the Narmada Hostel on 10th October. The Narmada Hostel Warden, Prof. Vijayakumar Rajagopalan, the CCW Chairman, T. Thyagaraj, the CCW Vice-Chairman, Prof. J.M. Mallikarjuna, and the Dean of Students, Prof. Sathyanarayana N Gummadi presided over the condolence meeting. The DoSt highlighted the need to look after one another and encouraged the students to use the confidential box on the DoSt website to raise matters related to student wellbeing. The Warden of Narmada Hostel reinforced this and mentioned his plans to conduct intra-hostel events to encourage resident interaction.
Ms Jinna Bordolai from the Institute Wellness Centre and student representatives from MITR attended the meeting and emphasised the need to open up about mental health and seek professional support when needed. One of the residents of Narmada Hostel also spoke of his mental health journey and the improvements he noticed after opening up to a friend.
Following this, a Condolence Meet was also conducted by ChintaBAR, an independent student body, in front of CLT.
When we reached out to the DoSt, he said, “The Andhra Police and Kotturpuram Police are working on it. We are extending our cooperation to both.”
T5E extends its grief and solidarity with the student, his friends and family, and the student community.
Attached herewith is a repository of mental health resources available on campus:
Wellness Centre
Mail: [email protected]
Contact: 04422578521 (Wellness Centre helpline 9 AM – 5 PM)
You can also reach out to the wellness team members individually: https://bit.ly/wellness_team
Additional Resources: https://www.wellnessiitm.com/
MITR
Mail: [email protected]
Report a concern: bit.ly/mitr_team
YourDOST
Tele-counselling: 044-4813 6222 (YourDOST 24×7)
Online counselling: https://yourdost.com/
And of course, your friends, who can help you reach these services and keep you company till you get there.
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This report has been made in accordance to guidelines on accurate and safe media reporting on suicide. The choices on the usage of words and information disseminated have been made keeping in mind the privacy and mental health of the student, their friends and family and the sensitivities of all related members.
